Anticancer Effect of α-Tocopheryl Succinate Delivered by Mitochondria-Targeted Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles

Mitochondria targeted mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs) having an average diameter of 68 nm were fabricated and then loaded with hydrophobic anticancer agent α-tocopheryl succinate (α-TOS). The property of targeting mitochondria was achieved by the surface functionalization of triphenylphosphonium (TPP) on MSNPs, since TPP is an effective mitochondria-targeting ligand. Intracellular uptake and mitochondria targeting of fabricated MSNPs were evaluated in HeLa and HepG2 cancerous cell lines as well as HEK293 normal cell line. In addition, various biological assays were conducted with the aim to investigate the effectiveness of α-TOS delivered by the functional MSNPs, including studies of cytotoxicity, mitochondria membrane potential, intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production, and apoptosis. On the basis of these experiments, high anticancer efficiency of α-TOS delivered by mitochondria targeted MSNPs was demonstrated, indicating a promising application potential of MSNP-based platform in mitochondria targeted delivery of anticancer agents.